Guardian Dragon
by Lady Kale
Summary: Saritobi couldn't stand by as a child was abused. Itachi wouldn't leave his brother with those who ordered the destruction their clan. Kida has absolutely no idea how she let herself get roped into this. Instead of growing up alone, both boys were placed in the custody of a guardian. But not just any guardian - the Dragon of the Leaf herself. AU, OC/Kakashi, Team Seven centric.


**Guardian Dragon by Lady Kale**

**Prologue: Little Dragon**

**Warnings: 1) Introduces an OC of mine who is NOT the main character of this story. 2) AU, meaning I'm screwing with the Naruto-verse and bending it to fit my will. 3) Implied failings of the Leaf Village. 4) Is written in ENGLISH. 5) Skips around a lot in this chapter, but will get better going forward.**

**Beta-ed: In the process of looking for one. My apologies. **

* * *

The Third Hokage of the Village Hidden Within the Leaves stared intently into his spying glass. In it he could see a young boy with unruly blonde hair and a pair of terribly sad, ocean blue eyes. He looked to be about three, maybe four - but the old man knew his age to be closer to six. The child was wandering the streets of the Red District, desperately looking for shelter from the oncoming storm. Every pub, every brothel, every stoop he dared to approach turned him away - some much more harshly than others. When the child received a rather vicious backhand from a member of a local street gang, the Hokage forced himself to look away.

Things could not continue the way that they were. If they did, someone was going to pay dearly - be it the child, or the Leaf village. Either way, the results were not something that he was willing to risk.

His eyes trailed up to the two ANBU Black Ops in front of his desk. Part of his brain pointed out that they too were almost depressingly small given the harsh and brutal nature of their rank. The other part dismissed that thought viciously, remembering that they were more than qualified, regardless of their age. They were called prodigies for a reason after all.

"Now do you understand why I am assigning you this mission, Ryuk?" He addressed the smaller of the two. "We must rectify this situation before it is too late."

A black gloved hand raised to remove a grotesque mask in the likeness of a snarling dragon. The face that was revealed was partially obscured by another mask - this one completely black save for three light grey lines reminiscent of claw marks. Strands of the girls short brown hair stuck up overtop of her standard Leaf headband and hung into her silver eyes.

The teenager blinked, then leaned forward to get a better look at the child in the crystal. Her eyes narrowed as the boy was forced out from under the eaves under which he had taken shelter. A righteous anger boiled in her chest and she couldn't help but wonder why the Hokage had not done something before now. Instead of voicing such thoughts, she simply straightened and nodded her accent.

"You accept the assignment?"

"Yes sir," her voice was strong and sure, showing none of the raging emotions she felt inside.

Sasuke Sarutobi felt his breath leave him in a rush. Shaking his head, he picked up the mission scroll and held it out to the young girl. The man called the Professor didn't miss the look in her eyes when her small hand shot out to grasp it. Instinctively he knew that she would not fail him. She never did - despite the fact that he himself had more then failed her.

He coughed into his fist before continuing, "I will make the necessary arrangements for your previous assignment. As it stands I will be wanting your final report as soon as is convenient." The Hokage hid his pained smile by shuffling through the paperwork littering his desk. "Everything you will need is in the scroll. Burn it when you've finished."

Recognizing her dismissal, the girl, code named Ryuk, offered her superior a salute before turning to leave. As the door swung shut behind her, she could hear him say to her partner, "Take off the mask Weasel, we have even more serious things to discus." Then his voice was cut off and Ryuk could hear no more.

Nodding to the secretary, she affixed her ANBU mask to her belt and set off. Only her hesitant glance back at the giant double doors gave any clue of her nervousness. Weasel and she had been teammates since they were gennin. It was only within the last year when he had been promoted to Captain and she had been given a long term, priority one, espionage that they had worked apart.

She was tempted to wait around and see what special assignment the Hokage had for him -It was only fair given that he knew of hers - but the rumble of thunder quickly changed her mind. Ryuk had a mission to do - one that she refused to fail, no matter the cost.

* * *

Thunder cracked across the sky as rain continued to assault the Village Hidden Within the Leaves. Almost everyone within the village had taken shelter against the relentless downpour - nestling within the warmth of homes and shops, or huddled out in the cold under eaves and awnings. Very few chose to brave the annual winter rains of Fire Country.

Across the Red Line, a part of the village most refused to acknowledge, a child was crying. Not the loud, blubbering sobs one his age were usual prone to, but silently, with a hiccup here or there as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He was cold, he was hungry and he was so very, very lonely.

The young boy, Naruto, just couldn't understand why. Why did all the grown-ups glare at him? Why did no one his age want to play with him? Why did everyone treat him so terribly when he knew in his heart that he had done nothing wrong?

The boy hiccupped again as he sloshed through the mud and the muck. Why didn't he have a family? Why was it that no one wanted him?

It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

Such were the dark thoughts that floated through the childs mind as he wandered from street to street. Every time he was chased away or refused shelter, his thoughts grew a little bit darker; his heart grew a little bit colder.

He hated them. Hated that look in their eyes; the sneer that played on their lips whenever he passed by.

One day he would show them, he promised himself. One day he would make them regret treating him like trash and leaving him so alone. One day -

His thoughts were stopped as suddenly as the rain that was had previously been falling on his small head.

Blinking tears from his eyes, Naruto looked up at the orange umbrella that had appeared, sheltering him from the torrents of water. His brain froze for a moment, and then two, as he stared at the bright color - not really understanding what was happening.

A throaty chuckle broke through his surprise.

Almost unwillingly, his eyes traced the umbrella to the handle and then to the tanned hand that held it above his head. As he stared, he began to comprehend and a trace of fear planted itself into his heart. (This wouldn't be the first time someone had pretended to be nice to him after all.)

It took a moment, but finally Naruto gathered up the courage to look the stranger in the face. The boy was immediately captivated by a pair of bright silver eyes.

* * *

Itachi's hands were shaking. His breath was unsteady and he felt ready to faint. The ANBU Captain had never been so terrified in all his thirteen years on this earth. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that his life would have spun so very far out of his control.

No, he thought to himself. This was no dream. This was a nightmare straight from the depths of hell itself.

Retribution had finally reared its terrible head at Itachi Uchiha. And he was in no way willing to pay its ghastly price.

He had long since taken his vows to protect his village at any cost; long since washed his hands with blood. But this was too much for the Uchiha heir - far, far too much.

Taking a deep breath to steady his frazzled nerves, Itachi once again reached out his chakra in search of his partner. She hadn't been at home, where he had first went after his visit with the Hokage. She hadn't been at headquarters, T and I or lurking within the depths of the not-so-hidden ROOT compound.

The one time he actually wanted, needed, someone to confide in and she was nowhere to be found.

Well isn't that just typical.

Thankfully Kida had a very unique chakra signature. And, even though she was suppressing it to the bare minimum needed to survive, Itachi knew all the signs to look for. It had just taken him a bit longer than usual.

That was why he was now standing before an ornate door in one of the Leaf's classier apartment buildings. He could feel the tiniest trace of her life's energy radiating from within, like a blast of icy air.

It was a signature he knew even better than his own.

Through the glass on either side of the white washed door he could see a long hall lined with empty bookshelves on one side. The floor was made entirely of a dark wood - new and shiny. Cardboard boxes were scattered about the place, over half of them completely untouched. Who ever lived here, they hadn't been here long.

His hand was just beginning to rap upon the wood under the brass numbers 38 when the door swung open without a sound.

The woman it revealed was dressed in casual civilian cloths. She was barefoot with her hair covered by a simple bandana; one hand holding the shaft of a broom. The other was using her overlong sleeve to wipe away any sweat that had gathered on her face.

For some reason, Itachi found her strangely familiar.

"'Tachi?" The young woman asked, tilting her head inquisitively as she let her arm fall back to her side.

The Uchiha heir blinked at the nickname and took a closer look at the teenager before him. She was on the smaller side of average, with the lithe build of a common knife fighter. Her weight was easily balanced on the balls of her feet and she stood unnaturally still and straight. A few wisps of brown hair escaped its confines to hang over dark brows and into twinkling eyes. Silver eyes.

Within moments the truth hit Itachi like a thunderbolt.

It had been years since he had seen his teammate without a mask of sorts. So many had passed that he almost hadn't recognized her. Although, in his defense, she had grown since then. Losing what little baby fat she had possessed to reveal her aristocratic features, there could be no doubt in anyone's mind exactly whose child she was.

Even back in their genin days, enemies were prone to guessing her lineage correctly. The result being that, after a particularly nasty C rank mission that had gone terribly wrong - ending in the death of both their teammate and sensei, Kida had begun to cover her face.

"You know," she continued - eyes sparkling with mischief. "You're the only ninja I know who actually uses the door. Most of us are happy to just hop through a window."

Itachi pointedly ignored the barb. "Are you going to let me in or are you going to continue to be rude?"

Chuckling good naturedly, Kida stepped back and motioned him to enter. "I was planning on being rude, of course."

Itachi slipped past his teammate into the apartment, taking care to stop and remove his shoes in the process.

"Leave them in there," the young girl pointed to a room off to the right.

When he slid back the door, he could make out a dark tiled floor, two other pairs of sandals and what looked like a washer and drier in the gloom. Carefully, he placed his sandles down by the others and then turned to follow his friend.

She led him down the hall and around the corner into a spacious, brightly lit kitchen. Half opened boxes cluttered the granite countertops and appliances littered the floor. Fine china was stacked precariously in the sink and cabinet doors were thrown open wide.

"Excuse the mess," Kida said as she picked her way across the room. "I'm in a bit of a rush to get everything set up before the kid wakes."

Itachi, feeling the last of his patients begin to fade, asked pointedly, "You wouldn't happen to have some tea lying about?"

His teammate's head whipped around, bright silver eyes narrowing in suspicion. After a moment she turned back around and began to shuffle through the sink. "Camomile alright with you? I brewed some about an hour ago to help the kid go to sleep."

"That would be lovely," Itachi sighed, sinking into a chair at the breakfast counter.

Kida paused yet again. "Why do I get the feeling this is going to call for a mug and not a tea cup?"

Five minutes later, the young boy was nursing a hot cup of tea as his teammate continued putting her kitchen in order. He knew the smell to be deceivingly delicious, given that Kida had always been subpar in all things domestic. "The kid actually drank this stuff?" He asked, taking a hesitant sip.

"Oh, haha." Kida muttered. "And don't think I don't see you pulling faces after every sip. It isn't that bad!"

"Yes, yes it is." Itachi set the mug down. "Are you going to tell me why you've suddenly moved into high class civilian apartments?"

The brunette didn't spare him a glance as she kicked cardboard aside and pushed dishes into cabinets. "Lord Hokage set it up; bought all the furniture and everything. Think he's trying to make up for something?" Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

A deep scowl imprinted itself on Itachi's face as he remembered his own conversation with the Hokage. "He'll never be able to pay back his debts," he spat out uncharacteristically. "No matter how long he lives, he'll never compensate for his ideal of the greater good."

"Alright," Kida spun around, hands on hips. "Now you're just scaring me. What's gotten into you, Itachi?"

There was a pregnant pause before he answered, "That is classified."

"Then why are you even here?" She shot right back.

Onyx eyes stared into the murky depth of the cup clutched tightly between calloused hands. He could feel the tears forming; saw them clouding his vision. Only a single drop escaped before he could regain control of himself.

His teammate, thankfully, had gotten the message. Soon the soft clatter of cutlery, the whoosh of drawers opening and the rip of cardboard filled the kitchen again.

In the back of his thirteen year old mind, he thought his fellow prodigy to be rather pretty. If she wasn't his teammate, had ridiculously short hair or a nasty vindictive streak, Itachi thought she might have been a nice girl to have taken home to meet his family. She was an excellent ninja, a superb commander and an even better spy.

There was no one in the world that Itachi trusted more than Kida.

Sadly, recent events had burned any fantasies of his future into little more than ash.

The two young teens spent the rest of the night organizing Kida's new apartment. Itachi stayed quiet as his partner chatted about the Uzumaki boy and the details of her mission. Every now and again he would make a suggestion, like when to enroll him in the Academy, the best ways to get him caught up to children his age and the trade secrets he thought they should have been taught when they were young. They spoke of how the child had been treated, ways to heal the psychological damage he might have and what to do about the villagers.

When the sun began to peak over the treetops, Itachi decided that it was time for him to take his leave. He had never gathered the courage to tell his teammate what he had come to tell her. All night he had felt the time slipping through his fingers, but he couldn't bring himself to break the strange trance-like peace. She would know soon enough. All he could do is hope that she would look underneath the underneath and discern out the truth of the situation.

There was just one more thing he needed to take care of before his mission began. "Will you promise me something?" He asked suddenly, halfway out of the front door.

Behind him stood Kida with a curious expression on her face. All night she had noticed Itachi's odd behavior but she figured if she needed to know, he would tell her. That didn't make her any less worried. "I suppose that depends on what it is."

"Whatever happens, promise me you'll look after Sasuke."

"I - what?" She spluttered, staring blankly at the back of the Uchiha's head. "Itachi, I-" Kida stopped short, noticing her partners unnaturally stiff posture.

When he turned to face her, she noticed the tears gathering in his eyes for the second time that night. In her heart, the teen prodigy finally understood. Whatever mission her teammate had, he would not be coming home.

"Yes." Her answer was simple and firm. Her posture spoke of confidence and her eyes shone with pride. It was an honor to know you Itachi Uchiha, she thought as she watched the boy's retreating back. An honor and a privilege to have been able to serve on the same team.

* * *

Twenty four hours later, she once again stood before her Hokage. This time though, she was in civilian cloths. This time, a small child was clinging to her pant leg. This time, her cheeks were stained with tears.

"I -" her voice broke and trembled. Kida coughed and tried again, more forcefully this time. "I would like to request full custody of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

**Mandatory 'I'm just beginning a new story and I have to explain myself' Author's note. Please read, It'll explain a lot. If not, hopefully the obnoxious underlining will get your attention. **

1) I am America, therefore I speak english, therefore _**this story will be written in english**_ with a few exceptions.

2) Kida/Ryuk is _**not**_ one of the main characters. This is a _**Team Seven centric**_ fic, ergo it will focus on what Team Seven's lives would have been like if they had a legal guardian to have taught them as they grew up.

3) Personally, I find stories without some sort of _**romantic interest**_ boring, so there will be some romance thrown about here and there.

4) I find the _**idea**_ that **_Itachi_ _didn't_** have a _**genin team**_ to be a _**load of crap**_. Even Kakashi had a genin team (granted, he didn't get them until he was already a chunin going on jounin.)

5) I highly doubt that Yamato is the only one of Orochimaru's experiments to have survived. Just stew on that for a couple of chapters.

6) If I was running a nation (forget ninja village) and knew there was a rival faction with its own military force, I would do my best to get some sort of insider intel on them.

7) _**Ryuk - It means 'Little Dragon'**_ which is a pain to type out in english, so we're going with Ryuk unless someone is purposely making fun of her.

8) None of you read this, did you?

9) _**Constructive criticism welcome**_.

10) Potential Flamers (not the gay kind) I hope you burn yourselves. And just remember, no, it isn't just your imagination. Nobody likes you.

11) Have I mentioned that I hate the document upload-thingy on this site?

* * *

_**Be Legendary,**_

_**Lady Kale**_


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